A pending U.S. patent application filed by Bruce Cowger and Norman Pawlowski, Jr., for an invention entitled "Ink Supply For An Ink-Jet Printer," describes an ink supply for an ink-jet printer that is separate from the printer ink pen, and can be replaced upon the emptying of the ink supply without the need to replace the printer ink pen. The ink supply of the aforesaid U.S. patent application incorporates a self-contained pumping device for dispensing ink from a pumping chamber, and describes, as an embodiment of such a pumping device, a bellows pump. However, a bellows pump requires a relatively large extended surface of a semi-rigid material, such as a polymeric material, and is subject to a relatively high rate of oxygen and moisture transfer through the material of the bellows. This oxygen and/or moisture transfer can result in the degradation of the ink within the ink supply, especially in a printer that is used only infrequently. Further, the bellows is subject to leakage at the location of its attachment to another portion of the ink supply. According to the aforesaid pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/429,987, these and other problems associated with the use of a bellows can be avoided by the use of a pumping device having a rigid perimetrical wall, preferably formed integrally with the associated chassis structure of the ink supply, with a linearly acting pumping member that is moveable within a pumping chamber defined by the rigid wall to pressurize ink within the pumping chamber, and a flexible moisture and oxygen barrier film heat sealed to an edge of the perimetrical wall in a continuous pattern and overlying the pumping member.
An ink supply according to the aforesaid U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/429,987 must be properly oriented before it can be inserted in a docking bay of an ink jet printer in which it is to be used. This is especially important for a replaceable ink supply because replacement ink supply units are likely to be installed by user personnel, who may not be as properly trained in replacement techniques as ink supply manufacturer service personnel. It has now been found that the protective shell and cap of an ink supply can be manufactured with external characteristics that make is easier for user personnel to properly orient a replacement ink supply unit before inserting it in a docking bay of a printer.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved liquid containing and dispensing device, and is a corollary an object of the present invention to provide an improved device of the foregoing character that is useful in containing and dispensing ink in an ink-jet printer.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid containment and dispensing device with an improved indicia for indicating the correct position of the device during the step of inserting the device in an assembly in which it is to be used and it is a corollary object of the present invention to provide a device of the foregoing character that is useful in containing and dispensing ink in an ink-jet printer.
For a further understanding of the present invention and the objects thereof, attention is directed to the drawing and the following brief description thereof, to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and to the appended claims.